


Ache

by tradrishanally



Series: The United States of Chaos* (*Read: America) [10]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Statetalia
Genre: Character Death, Cuba is crazy, F/M, Gen, Hospitals, M/M, Multi, Temporary Character Death, i hurt the 4 year old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 09:40:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17978942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tradrishanally/pseuds/tradrishanally
Summary: The ache doesn't fade, or does it?





	Ache

That last thing Venus remembers from before losing it was a fractured scream and a sadistic laugh. She goes numb as she turns around and- _that’s her son screaming._

\---

She’s on the ground.

She can see his wounds, the long scar down his side and the massive bruising all over his face and his arms. She’s being held down and then someone tells them all to “ _GET THE FUCK OFF HER SHE’S CALM ENOUGH_!”

She tries to stand but her leg gives away and she’s back on the ground.

“Mija. You’re fine. Mateo’s gonna be fine. He got you too, but you’re already healing,” a hand cards through her hair, turning as red as her hands are, and she coughs twice.

Everyone’s frantic. She doesn’t know why.

\---

She’s in a room and Kelsey’s over her, she can barely feel the pinching of the needle or the sting of the disinfectant.

“They demoted him, you’re getting a new little sibling,” Kelsey smiles. “We won’t have to worry about Carlos anymore.”

Her heart strains, knowing he, of all people, would break the fragile truce they’d made when Castro had made his way into power. She’d finally thought he’d gained some sense and the whole family would become a family again.

Kelsey leaves.

\---

“You’re too naïve for your own good _hermana_.”

“He trusted me to take in his people when Castro took over. I thought this was all over-” she’s sobbing as Santiago berates her for her own blind decisions.

“I did too, but I was still fucking wary around him.”

There’s almost silence, only the whirring of the fan and the small sobs coming from the patient bed.

“Is Mateo okay? Was anyone else hurt?” She finally asks.

There’s silence.

“No one else was hurt, mostly shocked.” Santiago pulls one of the visitor chairs to her bed. He settles down and puts a gentle hand on the bloodied bandage.

“What about Mateo?” she cries.

“He was flatlining when I came in. Kelsey was keeping up with his healing, though. His side is all stitched up and the bruising is almost gone."

She sobs loudly, and Santiago holds her.

\---

Kelsey finally lets her leave her own room and go to Mateo’s. He’d finally resurrected, but was still blatantly unconscious.

She’s in the hospital room, the only sound is the slow beeping of the heart monitor and hushed breathing. She holds his little hand in her own.

The door opens, and she only flinches. "Mom?" the voice calls out. "They gave me some clothes and I brought food."

There the clicking of heels and the scoot of the other visitor chair being pulled up next to her.

"Mom?" Regina pulls her face into view. She's aware she looks like a catastrophe., but she wants to make sure Mateo’s okay. “You’re going to change right now.” It’s a demand as Regina hands over the bag of clothes.

She obliges and returns to the main room in what definitely is Taylor’s sweatpants and Milo’s _Ghost Adventures_ t-shirt. She takes out her earrings and stuffs them into one of the pockets and brushes her hair into some semblance of order with her fingers- kind of hard when you have hair that doesn’t listen, no matter what.

Regina looks pleased when she comes out in cleaner and less destroyed clothes. She sits back down, wincing slightly from the stitches pulling slightly. She puts her hand over Mateo’s tiny hand, and settles in for a wait.

\---

The food is cold when she works up an appetite from worry. Shrimp salad, tortillas, and hot sauce. There’s a little smiley face on a sticky note stuck to the top of the tupperware. She gives a weak grin at Milo's best afar attempt to make her feel better.

Regina watches her roll up the shrimp salad and some of the hot sauce into the tortilla and slowly eat it. She eats it slow enough so that if Mateo does wake up, he could probably have some if he wanted.

There’s about two-thirds of the Tupperware left when she stops eating. The only sound is the beeping of the heart monitor. Her stomach rumbles again, but she convinces herself that she doesn’t want any more for now.

“I’m sorry.”

The sudden noise startles both of them, Venus for speaking it and Regina from hearing it.

“For what?” Regina replies, confused.

“For whatever the fuck I did that made you leave.” Her tone is melancholy but her words have an angry bite; whether angry at herself or angry at Regina wasn’t really known by either.

There’s heated silence.

“You seriously don’t know?” The question is small, quiet, and disbelieving.

“I wouldn’t be general if I did.”

“You neglected me. You favoured Mateo and neglected me. Everything was all _Mateo, Mateo, oh poor Mateo, the sweet child Mateo_. Did you seriously not know?” Regina is fuming, screaming in hushed whispers.

“I have no excuse, let me guess?” She asks the question in a pitiful voice.

“Let me hear your best one.”

“ _You grew up_ . _Mateo didn’t._ He was always sick and reliant on me. I still have to help him do most things. You grew up and wanted everything a kid wanted- privacy, someone to listen to your rants, freedom. I thought I gave that.” She’s tearing up by the end.

“How the fuck did you ignore everything I did to get your attention?”

“I have no excuse.”

The only sound is the beeping of the heart monitor.

\---

The grief sets in.

Regina wouldn’t understand, and she was caught in disbelief. Santiago comes back in around 11 pm.

“They won’t let Taylor or Milo in without your consent, apparently. They’ve been trying to get in for hours,” he sighs.

“They’re listed on his forms as guardians-” she groans.

He notices the manner she's speaking and acting in.

Santiago’s face softens significantly. “Are you still beating yourself up over it?”

“Regina cuts in, “Over what?” Her voice is laced with malice and betrayal.

“Regina.” Venus says in a voice that shuts the younger girl up.

“Listen you may be a naïve dumbass, but you can’t beat yourself up over it. You had blind faith in everything- that’s fine. He’s going to be fine. He’ll wake up and you can take him home.”

There’s silence until Venus gets up to follow Santiago to the front desk.

\---

She’s walking funny, with every step pulling the stitches- who wouldn’t be walking funny, but she makes it to the lobby. The receptionist looks up at her and goes wide eyed. Santiago heads back up and leaves her down in the lobby.

“Why in the fuck were Taylor and Milo not allowed up? They’re legal, listed guardians.” Her voice is weak and stern.

“Ma’am these could have been forged documents,” the other receptionist retorts.

“Bullshit. They’ve gotten the seals from all 3 states of residency, the formal statements that are legally required, and ID. That all can’t be forged.”

“Ma’am-” the receptionist that wasn’t wide-eyed starts. Venus glares at her until she swallows. “Never mind, go on up.” She hands back the documents and puts her head in her palms.

\---

The elevator ride back up is quiet and Venus is silently fuming. Milo pulls her into a hug gently and she lets her head fall limp onto his shoulder. They sway silently until Taylor pulls her from Milo and she attempts to do the same.

“His heart’s beating again, still unconscious, though,” She murmurs.

She winces when Taylor rests his hand on the wound, and he moves it immediately.

\---

Regina’s petting Mateo’s hair when they walk in, muttering something just above a whisper in Spanish. She pauses when she can see the group in her peripheral vision.

Venus moves closer, examining, and sits in the second chair in the room when she sees that he’s still out.

“Mom?” Regina asks quietly.

Venus perks up, “Mhmm?”

“I’m sorry for yelling.”

“I’m sorry for,” she pauses, thinking for the right word to say. She goes blank and mutters out, “everything.”

“I didn’t know why.”

“I didn’t know what I was doing.”

There’s silence as Mateo’s chest starts rising and falling in greater distances.

“I forgive you.” Regina half hugs Venus, careful for the stitches and the wound.

\---

When she wakes up, she’s in an adult-sized bed in the opposite corner of Mateo’s room. Milo’s crammed against the open edge of the bed, hand gently resting on her hip rather than slouched over her waist. Taylor is curled up on the couch, even though he really shouldn’t be with the fact that she and Milo are much smaller.

Milo groans in awakeness and accidentally bangs his forearm on Venus wound, causing her to seethe loudly before muttering “ _FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK_ ” loudly.

“That’s a bad word, mama.”

Venus groans and sits up at the foot of the bed, She can’t be hearing right.

“Papa, should mama not say bad words?” Mateo asks Milo.

Venus bolts to the other side of the room, a bad idea with stitches. She immediately collapses in pain from ripping them, and screeches in as loud of a voice she can (which, quite frankly, is not that loud.).

That wakes up Taylor, and he immediately yells for Kelsey.

Venus, with Taylor’s assistance, gets to the chairs by the bed and Kelsey comes in with another suture kit and gauze bandage. “Didja pull ‘em?”

Venus grumbles and Mateo scoots over to his mama. “Mama mama mama mama I GOT A STICKER!” he smiles as he shows his shirt to her, donned with a hulk sticker.

“You do! Mijo- are you alright? Wanna go home?” Venus asks as Kelsey pulls out her old stitches and peels of the nasty brown splotched gauze.

“WITH SISSY!” He bounces, but stops once he feels the sting from his stitches.

“With who to the who now?” Milo asks, barely awake.

“GINAAAAAAAAAAA,” Mateo yells, laughing.

“Silencio, mijo. What do you mean with _Ginaaaaaaaaaaa_?” Venus faux mocks his tone but quieter.

“She wants to come.”

“If you don’t mind,” A voice calls from the hallway.

Venus, now free from the restrictions of “getting your stitches redone,” turns and gives a questioning look to Milo and Taylor. They exchange looks and sign language for a solid minute.

“One month and if it doesn’t work out, you’re old enough to live on our own,” Venus smiles.

The ache of loss fades.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise, not really.
> 
> I'm sorry I hurt the 4-year-old.  
> Not really.
> 
> Anonymous comments disabled to prevent anonymous hellraising.
> 
> Acceptable comments for you shy folk:  
> "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH"  
> "This was really good."  
> "Y U Hurt the 4-year-old."  
> etc.


End file.
